Indonesian Folklore (Folklor Indonesia): Tales from Nusantara (Archipelago): West Kalimantan

Showing posts with label West Kalimantan. Show all posts

Ballah Stone

The Magical Stone in Sambas

Ballah Stone, Betangkup Stone

Folklore from West Kalimantan

Sambas Sambas Regency in West Kalimantan Province

Once upon a time, a widow and her two children resided in Sambas Regency. Mak Risah is the name of the widow. He shared a home with his two children, Long Ijun, her oldest daughter, and Su Pisok, his youngest son. They live in poor conditions because their lives depend on their father, who is no longer there. In order to support her three children, her mother did not give up working hard.

Mak Risah's everyday tasks included gathering firewood in the forest. She offered assistance to neighbors who required it.

His mother said goodbye one day to go fishing, usually for mudskipper, which her children adore. It turned out to be a difficult effort, but she found mudskipper and asked the eldest son to cook while his mother went to bathe in the river. But before that, the mother ordered that the mudskipper eggs be left for her.

But it turns out that Su Pisok ate so much that he forgot to leave the spare egg. When the mother returned home, she was upset and disappointed to see this incident, and she ran to the riverbank.

Long Ijun realized that his mother still had not returned, even though it was already dark. His little brother was constantly crying because he was hungry again. Long Ijun and her brother followed their mother.

At the river's edge, Mak Risah then climbed on top of a big rock that gaped wide like a mouth. When she reached the mouth of Batu Ballah, she begged Batu Ballah to grasp her; then she was stuck in the rock.

Seeing this, Long Ijun ventured to save his mother, but it was too late. Mak Risah couldn't hear anymore because her whole body was already inside the Ballah stone, where only part of her hair was left. Until now, this story has been passed down from generation to generation.

According to wise people, his mother had been swallowed up by a large, haunted rock by the river. It is said that the stone is called Batu Ballah or Ballah Stone.

Moral Messages

The story of Ballah Stone from West Kalimantan offers several moral messages:

1. Respect and Obedience: The story emphasizes the importance of following instructions and respecting the wishes of elders. Su Pisok's failure to leave the mudskipper eggs for his mother, as she had asked, leads to a series of unfortunate events. This highlights the consequences of disobedience and thoughtlessness.

2. The Consequences of Greed: Su Pisok's overeating symbolizes greed and its negative consequences. His indulgence not only deprives his mother of the food she desired but also leads to her tragic disappearance. This teaches the lesson that selfish behavior can have far-reaching and devastating effects on others.

3. Parental Sacrifice and Hard Work: The story portrays the mother's hard work and sacrifice to provide for her children. Despite her efforts, the family's difficult situation and her ultimate fate underscore the theme of parental sacrifice and the harsh realities faced by single parents.

4. Responsibility and Care: Long Ijun's role as the eldest child involves taking responsibility and caring for his younger sibling. The story underlines the importance of sibling responsibility and the need to support each other in difficult times.

5. Coping with Loss and Grief: The story also touches on themes of loss and grief. The disappearance of the mother is a profound loss for the children, teaching young readers about the inevitability of loss and the importance of coping with grief.

Overall, the tale of Ballah Stone imparts valuable lessons about respect, obedience, the consequences of greed, the sacrifices of parents, and the importance of responsibility and care within a family.

Did you know?

Fish called mudskippers are amphibians. They are members of the Oxudercinae subfamily and the family Oxudercidae. The number of mudskipper species is 32. These fish are distinguished by their peculiar appearance. They have the capacity for both aquatic and terrestrial survival as well.

Mudskipper

references: wikipedia, aphudnurul.wordpress.com, bbc.co.uk

The Legend of Ruai Bird (The Great Argus)

The great argus with the feathers pattern. Inspired by argus in Greek myth.

Legenda dan Asal Usul burung Ruai/Kuau Besar/Kuau Raja >> Edisi Bahasa Indonesia

Folklore from West Kalimantan

ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom in West Kalimantan. The King had seven daughters. The queen had passed away. The king did not want to remarry.

The seven daughters were beautiful. However, the youngest daughter was the most beautiful. She was also the kindest. She often helped other people. Her sisters were very much different. They were lazy. They also had bad attitude. They were cruel to people.

The king knew about his daughters behaviours. He often advise his older daughter to behaviours. He often advise his older daughters to behave like the youngest daughter. Sadly, they never listened to the king's advice. They hated their youngest sister because the king often praised her good behaviour.

The older daughters often did terrible things to the youngest daughter. They often hit her. She was very sad. She often cried. She could not tell it to her father because her older sisters always intimidated her. They would hit her even harder if she told their father.

One day, the king asked all her daughters to meet him.

"I'm going to the neighboring kingdom. I'll go for several months. While I'm gone, my youngest daughter will rule the kingdom. Do you understand?" asked the king.

"Yes, we do, Father, "said all the daughters.

The older daughters were angry. They very upset about their youngest sister was asked to rule the kingdom.

After the king left, they planned something bad. They wanted to get rid of their youngest sister. They pretended to be nice to her. The youngest daughter was happy. Finally, her older sisters were nice to her.

The older sisters asked her to go fishing. They asked to go to Gua Batu or a stone cave. There was a river flowing inside the cave. And there were a lot of fish in that river.

The youngest daughter was so happy when they finally arrived at the cave. She did not know that her sisters were going to do something bad to her.

"Hurry up, let's go inside the cave. You can find a lot of fish inside the cave," said the oldest daughter.

The youngest was so eager. As she went inside the cave, she did not know that her sisters stayed outside the cave. They kept on asking her to go inside the cave.

She kept on walking until she was lost! She was calling out all her sisters, but they did not respond. She then understood that her sisters did not want her to rule the kingdom anymore.

reddit.com

She was very sad. She cried. Suddenly an old man came. He was a holy man. He was meditating in the cave. She changed her tears into eggs.

"Don't worry, I can help you. You can go back to the kingdom but you have to change into a bird. I name you Ruai Bird. After that, brood these eggs. After they hatch, the birds will accompany you," said the old man.

She agreed. Slowly she changed into a beautiful bird. And after all the eggs were hatched, they went back to the kingdom. They all stayed at the tree near the kingdom. They all saw how the king punished the older sisters.***

Did you know?

Ruai (Kuau Besar) or The great argus (Argusianus argus) is a species of pheasant. Scientific name of the Great Argus was given by Carl Linnaeus in reference to the many eyes-like pattern on its wings.

Argus Panoptes

Argus is a hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology. There are two subspecies recognized: Nominate argus of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, and A. a. grayi of Borneo. William Beebe considered the two races to be distinct species, but they have since been lumped. (wikipedia.org)

Please Read More Stories!

Fight for an Elephant

The Mouse Deer and the Turtle

Kancil dan Kura-kura | Edisi Indonesia

Indonesian Folklore Webpage

Folklore from West Kalimantan

A mouse deer and a turtle were best friends. One day, they went to a river. They wanted to go fishing. On the way to the river, they met a deer.

"Hey friends, where are you going?"

"We're going to go fishing," said the mouse deer.

"May I join you?"

"Sure, no problem."

The three of them continued walking. They later met a hog. The hog also wanted to join them. The mouse deer, the turtle, and the deer agreed. Then the four of them continued walking.

While they were walking, they met a buffalo. The buffalo also wanted to join them. Later, a rhinoceros and an elephant joined them. They were happy, they could go together. While they continued their trip to the river, a bear stopped them. He was curious about why they were walking together.

"Hey guys, where are you going?"

"We're going fishing," said the mouse deer.

"Hmm... It's interesting. May I join you guys? I'm hungry now."

"Sure, no problem. The more the merrier," said the mouse deer.

They were led by the mouse deer. They were walking happily.

Finally, they arrived at the river. They all jumped into the river and caught the fish. After they caught the fish, they threw the fish on the river bank. The buffalo was still standing on the river bank. The mouse deer asked him to guard the fish they caught.

The buffalo did his job carefully. He was collecting all of the fish that his friends had thrown onto the riverbank. Suddenly, a tiger came.

The tiger was hungry. And when he saw a lot of fish in front of him, his mouth was watering. The tiger tried to steal the fish. The buffalo was angry. He attacked the tiger. They were fighting.

Unfortunately, the buffalo lost the fight. He fainted. The tiger then ate all the fish. The mouse deer finally knew what happened. He asked his friends to keep on catching the fish and throwing them to the river bank. He knew the buffalo could not guard the fish anymore. He then asked the deer to guard the fish.

Sadly, the tiger came. The deer and the tiger were fighting. The deer also could not win the fight. The tiger again ate the fish that the mouse deer and his friends threw to the river bank.

The mouse deer saw the deer fainted. So he next asked the hog. But the hog could not win the fight against the tiger.

Then the mouse deer asked the elephant to guard the fish. The same thing happened. The elephant also lost the fight. Next, the rhinoceros and the bear had to guard the fish. Unfortunately, they also lost the fight.

There were only the mouse deer and the turtle. The mouse deer did not want to ask his best friend to fight against the tiger. So he guarded the fish by himself.

Later, the mouse deer collected some rattans. He made big rings from the rattans. He wore the big rings on his legs.

And then he looked up at the sky. Later, the tiger came. He wanted to steal the fish again. However, he was curious about why the mouse deer was looking up in the sky.

"What are you doing?"

"If you wear the big rings, you can see what happens in the sky," said the mouse deer.

The tiger was curious, so he wore the rings.

"Hey, I still cannot see anything," said the tiger.

"That's because you don't wear enough rings. Your body is big, so you have to wear many rings. Here, let me help you," said the mouse deer.

The mouse deer put all the rings on the tiger's legs. All the legs were full of rings. The tiger could not move his legs at all.

He was just lying hopelessly. The mouse deer was happy that the tiger could not disturb them anymore. ***

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Nyai Anteh and the Moon

Legend of Malawen Lake

The Better Nest

Legend of Leech

Belumbak Island

The Tale of the Two Brothers

Versi Bahasa Indonesia | Pulau Belumbak

Folklore from West Kalimantan

THERE was an old woman lived near the Kapuas River, West Kalimantan. She had two sons. Her husband had died a long time ago. The woman took care of her sons by herself. She taught them to be independent. The two sons were teenagers. They wanted to have a better life. Every day they saw big ships sailing along the Kapuas River. They saw rich merchants with beautiful ships. They also wanted to become rich merchants. They really wanted to have big and beautiful ships.

The two sons told their plans to their mother. The woman was very sad. She did not want to lose her children. However, they insisted that they would come back soon. And they also promised to be back home with a lot of money.

The woman could not hold them any longer. She finally let them go. And before the sons left, they gave their mother their chicks. They said that they would come home when the chicks grew as cocks.

The two brothers joined a big ship. The owner of the ship was a rich merchant. He gave them a job in his ship. They were very happy. Their dream started to come true.

After working for the rich merchant for some time, the two brothers bought their own ships. Each of them bought a small ship. They worked very hard and slowly they became very rich.

The two brothers were famous. Many people were amazed with their wealth and their beautiful and big ships. Many young girls fell in love with them. And finally the two brothers got married. Their wives were really beautiful.

It had been a really long time since the two brothers left their home. They wanted to visit their hometown. The two brothers told their wives and their crew that they would sail to Kapuas Rivet, their hometown.

The ships sailed side by side. And every time the ships passed by at a harbor, people were always talking about them. They were talking about the rich brothers who would go back home. The news about the two brothers was spreading very fast. Their mother also heard the news and she was extremely happy.

The woman had been waiting for their children. She was old and very weak. Every day she was always thinking about her sons.

And when her sons' ships finally arrived, she brought the cocks. She wanted to show the cocks to her children.

First she came to the oldest son.

"My Son, it's me. I am your mother. Look! I brought your cock."

The oldest son was shocked to see his mother. She was old and looked shabby. The oldest son was ashamed to see his own mother.

"No! I don't know you! You are not my mother. Go away!"

The old woman was very sad. She was crying. Then she went to the second ship. It belonged to his second son. Sadly, his second son also behaved badly. He also denied the woman as his mother.

The woman was very sad. She never thought it would happen to her. Her sons ignored her and did not want to admit her as their mother. She prayed to God. She asked God to punish her children.

God heard the prayer. Suddenly a heavy storm attacked the river. The rain fell down heavily. The two brothers wanted to save their lives. Their ships sailed very fast. But they could not save their lives. The storm made their ships sink.

And after the storm was over, people saw two islands in the middle of Kapuas River. The islands looked like two ships sailing in the, race competition. People then named the islands as Belumbak Island. Belumbak is from the word 'berlomba' or 'race competition'. ***

The Importance of Family Respect and Humility

The moral message of this story revolves around the importance of respecting and honoring parents, as well as maintaining good family relationships. The tale illustrates how the two sons, after becoming wealthy and famous, refuse to acknowledge their old and frail mother when she comes bearing a meaningful gift for them. Disrespecting and denying one's parents is deemed inappropriate, and the story highlights the negative consequences of such behavior.

Furthermore, the story teaches that greed and arrogance can lead to destruction. Despite the brothers' success in life, their haughty attitude and lack of respect towards their mother ultimately bring about tragic consequences. The punishment they receive from God in the form of a great storm that causes their ships to sink serves as a reminder that wrongful actions will not go unpunished.

Thus, the moral message of this story can be interpreted as the importance of honoring parents, maintaining good family relationships, avoiding greed and arrogance, and accepting the consequences of one's misdeeds.

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The Legend of Ripe Mangosteen Stone / The Fight of Two Friends

Legenda Batu Manggu Masak >> Edisi Bahasa Indonesia

Folklore from West Kalimantan

THERE were two friends, their names were Bujang Alai and Bujang Kuratauan. They had been friends since they were kids. They went to the same martial art school. Both of them were very skillful at martial art.

Bujang AIai and Bujang Kuratauan were adults. They were always together and got along very well.

Actuallly, both of them were always competing. Bujang Alai and Bujang Kuratauan always competed in everything and never wanted to lose. Each of them always wanted to be a winner.

Both men were falling in love with the same girl. They both tried to win the girl's heart. Bujang Alai and Buiang Kuratauan always tried to impress the girl. Unfortunately, their competition was getting worse. Both friends started to hate each other.

One day, the girl was missing. She had left the house for two days. The girl's family was looking every where but still they could not find her.

Bujang Kuratauan was also looking for the girl. well, he was also curious about Bujang Alai. He had not seen Bujang Alai for two days. He felt Bujang Alai was with the girl. Buiang Krratauan went to Bujang Alals house. He asked him.

"Where is she?" asked Buiang Kuratauan.

"Ha ha ha... I know you will come to look for her here in myhouse. Well, your feeling is right! She is here, in my house!" said Bujang Alai arrogantly.

Bujang Kuratauan was angry when he heard that Bujang Alai hid the girl

"Her family is looking for her! You have to brinng her back to her house!" yelled Bujang Kuratauan.

"What if I don't want to do it?" mocked Bujang Alai.

"I have to fight you!" yelled Bujang Kuratauan.

Bujang Alai was ready. He fought back and tried to attack Bujang Kuratauan.

They used all their skills and tried to be the winner. Well, both of them were equally skillful. They had been fighting for hours but there was no sign that one of them would lose.

However, it was getting dark and Bujang Alai started to feel very weak. Bujang Kuratauan made good use of the condition. He attacked Bujang Alai very hard.

The attack was so hard that made Bujang Alai lost his balance. He fell down and he finally died.

Bujang Alai's family was very sad to hear that Bujang Alai had died. The family wanted to revenge. They all wanted to kill Bujang Kuratauan.

Bujang Kuratauan heard that Bujang Alai's family was looking for him. Bujang Alai had a big family on the other hand Bujang Kuratauan had only small family. Buiang Kuratauan knew he could not fight Bujang Alai's family. They were too many of them.

Bujang Kuratauan set a strategy. He asked his family to leave the house at night. They were also asked to bring torches.

Bujang Alai's family arrived at Buiang Kuratauan's house at night. They saw some people brought some torches. They thought Bujang Kuratauan was there too. So they followed them.

When Bujang Kuratauan's family arrived at a waterfall, they put the torches near the waterfall. After that they all left.

Bujang Alals family thought Bujang Kuratauan and his family were hiding there. They immediately ran toward the waterfall. They did not know that the place was wet and slippery. They all fell down and bled. Their blood covered a big stone. The color of the stone changed. It was like the color of a ripe mangosteen.

Since then people named the stone as Batu Manggu (Manggis) Masak which means stone of ripe mangosteen. ***